New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) staff, alongside professionals from the early childhood education and health and wellbeing sectors, were inspired to take their leadership capabilities to new heights after attending a screening of select presentations from the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit 2017.

After its inception more than 20 years ago by the Willow Creek Association, the Global Leadership Summit has become an annual, world-class leadership training event that is broadcast around the world to more than 400,000 people in 128 countries.

The screening of the summit – hosted at the college’s Auckland and Christchurch campuses – featured a line-up of insightful videocasts of a diverse group of speakers, whereafter thought-provoking team discussions were held about the talking points of each presentation.

Addressing attendees at the event, NZTC Chief Executive Selena Fox said, “The Global Leadership Summit has changed my life, and through its learning, the lives of those I have had the opportunity to serve, over the years. You are here today because someone believes in you as a leader.”

Themed ‘Everyone has Influence’, speakers focused on how everyone has the ability to create positive change and affect the people, places and things they come into contact with.

Willow Creek Community Church founder and senior pastor, Bill Hybels, set the tone for the presentations to follow as he shared advice for leading in an era of divisiveness and disrespect, urging leaders to take the time to plant leadership seeds in others.

Hybels’ talk was followed by the likes of industry leaders such as Sheryl Sandberg (chief operating officer at Facebook), Marcus Buckingham (founder of strength-based talent development agency, The Marcus Buckingham Company) and Angela Duckworth (best-selling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance).

The calibre of this year’s speaker line-up was so great that the college treated attendees to two bonus sessions, featuring presentations by lawyer Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as advocate for peace and forgiveness and best-selling author Immaculée Ilibagiza.